TAMPA, Fla. — One hundred and thirteen days ago, Aaron Boone stood on the precipice and drank in the pain.
The manager of the New York Yankees, his team just vanquished in a World Series-ending heartbreaker, had ventured across Yankee Stadium’s subterranean tunnels to the visiting locker room. Having already addressed his team and the media, Boone wished to congratulate his counterpart, Los Angeles Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts, on a series well-fought.
There he settled, a few steps beyond the door frame leading to the Dodgers clubhouse. Down that hallway, revelry reigned, the type of hard-earned party every baseball person dreams of. Understandably, Boone did not wish to enter that space. Doing so would be inappropriate, an unnecessary intrusion.
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Someone else was sent to retrieve Roberts as Boone remained outside, still clad in pinstripe pants and a navy hoodie, a blank look of defeat cemented on his face. As he waited, music from the booze-drenched shindig bounced and boomed, rattling the walls. The unmistakable smell of champagne flooded into the open tunnel, filling Boone’s nostrils, lightly stinging his eyes.
The resolute Yankees manager — so close, so far — had no choice but to soak it all in.
Four months later and a thousand miles away, Boone and the Yankees announced a two-year contract extension that will keep the skipper in the Bronx through at least 2027. Boone’s previous deal was set to expire at the conclusion of the upcoming season. The new pact quiets any buzz around his job status and removes a potential distraction from the ever-busy YankeeLand circus. It is a reward for a successful 2024 season, agonizing as the result might have been, and a show of faith from ownership.
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On Thursday, during his daily spring training news conference, Boone was thankful, though far from overtly jubilant, regarding his new contract. He voiced excitement and gratitude about the deal, and he reiterated his desire to lead the Yankees to a World Series win.
Boone is keenly aware of his unique situation, the singular nature of his position and, most importantly, his role within the ecosystem he inhabits. Being the manager of the Yankees comes with supersonic expectations. Anything but a parade is a failure. The attention can be exhausting — the eyeballs, the questions, the cameras, the criticisms, the noise, the all of it all — but it also heightens the experience, raises the stakes. Winning in the Bronx, in front of the sport’s most rabid fan base, is a distinct opportunity and one that Boone cherishes.
“I don’t like that we haven’t won a championship yet. That bothers me,” he told the assembled reporters. “But I know what I signed up for when I got into this.”
Although his finger is ringless, Boone has accomplished a great deal since he accepted this gig ahead of the 2018 season. His .584 career winning percentage is the second-best mark among managers in the post-integration era (since 1947). He has reached the playoffs six times in seven years. Yankees players love him, regarding the former All-Star third baseman as relatable, approachable and honest. If he finishes out this contract, Boone will become just the seventh Yankees manager to guide the franchise for a decade.
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And yet, fairly or not, Boone is most defined by what he has not achieved: a World Series title. Every skipper ahead of him on the all-time franchise wins list — and there are only six — won a championship. Boone, who played in 12 big-league seasons, never won as a player, either. The Boone family, which includes brother Bret, father Bob and grandfather Ray, is baseball royalty, with more than 8,416 MLB games played or managed. Yet Bob’s 1980 title in Philly and Ray’s 1940 title in Cleveland are the only trophies on the mantle.
The outlook for a deep Yankees run in 2025 is hopeful, though treacherous, as it always is in the American League East. New York will once again be led by Aaron Judge, the reigning AL MVP, and a deep, talented starting rotation that ranks as one of the league’s best. Yet there are questions about the complementary offensive pieces around Judge, particularly in the wake of a recent injury to DH Giancarlo Stanton. Third base and backup catcher are also areas of concern.
Keeping a room full of proud, well-paid athletes on the same page, tugging the rope in the same direction, is no easy task. Thankfully, one of Boone’s best attributes, his coaching colleagues say, is his ability to cultivate ideological buy-in from his players. There will be bumps, injuries, disagreements and discord. A fan base ravenous for a title will continue harping on every managerial move, big or small.
Boone will have to navigate it all, bottling and weaponizing the pain of 2024 into something productive and impactful.
He wouldn’t have it any other way.
